Foot covering



March 21, 1944. HERBERT 2,344,773

FOOT COVERING Filed March 24, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l Ira/6min)" LEON S. HERBERT March 21, 1944. s HERBERT 2,344,773

FOOT COVERING Filed March 24, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 as s1 31 LEO sf-i' S. HERBERT Patente d Mar. 21, 1944 FOOT CQVERING Leon 8. Herbert, Merlon, Pa., assignor to Theotiste -N. Herbert, Merion, Pa.

Application March 24, 1943, Serial No. 480,265

9 Claims.

This invention relates to knitted foot coverings and more particularly to the slipper type of knitted foot covering adapted to be worn inside a low cut lady's shoe or slipper, it being among the principal objects of this invention to provide a foot covering of rib knitted fabric in which the natural elasticity of the fabric extends lengthwise of the foot and is greater in the sole section than in the heel and toe sections to thereby insure a proper and comfortable fit of the covering upon-the foot.

It is also an object of this invention to make the slipper foot covering from a section of knitted fabric wherein all of its knitted courses extend lengthwise of the foot and horizontally around the heel and toe portions thereof, the covering being of an overall peripheral length large enough so that the covering, the knitted fabric of which has natural stretch or elasticity coursewise thereof, will fit over a number of sizes of feet with the knitted courses extending lengthwise of the foot around the heel and the toe thereof, thus making it possible not only for a manufacturer of the foot covering of this invention to supply his trade with a lesser number of sizes, but also for the retailer to stock a lesser number of sizes and yet meet all of the user requirements.

Still a further object of the invention is to so form the foot covering, as to provide it with a lesser degree of elasticity in the upper part thereof than in the lower or sole part thereof, thereby obtaining a snug fit about the instep and around the heel of the wearer thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view showing the slipper foot covering in place on the foot of a wearer;

Figure 2 is a side view of a tubular section of seamless knitted fabric knitted to provide an upper portion in the form of a doubled French welt;

Figure 3 is a side elevation view of a finished foot covering constructed in accordance with and embodying the principles of the present invention; and

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are sectional views taken respectively on the lines l-4, 55 and 6-6 of Figure 3.

Preferably, in forming the slipper foot covering of the present invention, a lengthwise extending tube of knitted fabric is provided of a diameter large enough so that the seamless courses are of such length, allowing for the natural inherent stretch or elasticity thereof, as to extend coursewise in a direction extending lengthwise of the foot and around the heel and the toe thereof. Since a knitted fabric has greater stretch or elasticity coursewise than walewise, it is evident that the slipper foot covering so made will fit snugly around the heel and the toe of the foot of the wearer. So far as the feature of the invention relating to the courses extending lengthwise of the foot is concerned, it is obvious that a seamless tube is not essential to the same and that cut and sewn flat rib knitted fabric may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention, :11- though in its preferred embodiment the article of this invention is fabricated of circular knit seamless fabric, as with this type of fabric the method of making the finished product is simpler and less expensive.

In the preferred embodiment rib rather than plain fabric is used as the former has a greater stretch or elasticity than the latter, although the latter may be used if desired. The true rib fabric may be used throughout the slipper foot, but if less stretch is desired in the heel and toe areas, as when the sole section ha sufficient elasticity, then the stitch structure of the heel and the toe may be varied over the true rib stitch structure to reduce the elasticity of the same, such a variation in stitch structure being obtained, for example, by knitting the heel and the toe sections of tuck stitch rib, transferred stitches or even plain jersey fabric, as described and shown more particularly in my copending divisional application filed December 9, 1943, Serial No. 513,597.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings, it will be observed that they illustrate a form of construction of the foot covering of this invention wherein the upper part thereof is formed of a doubled or two-ply welt of the socalled French type, the covering in this case being knitted throughout of true rib fabric, although, if desired, the toe and heel portions thereof may be tuck stitch rib knitted as hereinbefore described.

Thus, upon reference to Figure 2, it will be observed that the seamless tube 30 is produced in its initial form of rib-knitted fabric throughout, the upper portion thereof being provided with a relatively deep welt 3| formed by doubling the fabric upon itself and then knitting the lower edge of the doubled welt into the single ply fabric forming the lower portion 32, along the line indisary to insure against uncomfortable binding of cated by the reference numeral 33. The seamless I tube so prepared is accordingly provided with a finished upper edge 84 from which all of the needle lines or wales extend perpendicularly toward the bottom edge 34 thereof.

Having so produced the seamless tube 80, it is folded fiat and then out along the line N" in the region of the upper toe portion to form the toe portion 35, the cut edges being seamed together as at 36. ,If desired, and in order to provide the covering with some further degree of shape,'the flattened tube 30 may be further trimmed in the regions of the lower toe and heel portions to provide somewhat rounded shapes in these regions, the cut edges of the tube and the lower edges thereof extending along the sole portion being then joined together by a continuous line of stitching 31. It will be understood, however, that this shaping in the regions of the lower toe and heel portions is not essential and may be dispensed with in the form of construction herein described in view of the fact that the knitted fabric per se has sufiicient elasticity that the desired finished shape may be obtained'slmply by shaping and boarding in accordance with conventional practice. In its preferred form, the completed covering, as shown in Figure 3, is of circumferentially seamless or endless knitted construction in the plane of the line 6-6 (see Figure 3), and inasmuch as the knitted courses also extend circumferentially about the foot (i. e. lengthwise thereof), the covering has sufiicient elasticity'to fit snugly over the foot. Due to the fact that the fabric forming the upper part 3| of the covering is doubled upon itself,

this being the portion which fits about the heel and over the lower instep portion of the foot, the covering is provided in said upper part thereof with a reduced degree of elasticity and so provides for a snug and-secure fit about the heel and instep portions of the foot. At the same time there is provided, by w'rtue of the lower part 32 of the covering being formed of a single ply, all the elasticity and stretch that is necesthe wearers foot therein.

It will be seen that I have provided a foot covering of knitted fabric in the form of a slipper foot in which the courses extend lengthwise of the foot so that the natural elasticity of the textile fabric causes the covering to fit snugly over the foot without the use of rubber or elastic threads incorporated therein. The use of a rib fabric provides a certain amount of thickness 55 or body to the foot covering while at the same time providing a maximum of elasticity. The provision of tuck stitch wales in the heel and in the toe sections, if employed, reduces somewhat the elasticity in these sections so that the toe and heel portions 38 and 39 (Figure 3) of the finished covering more snugly fit about the toe and heel of the wearer, while the provision of the doubled welt portion 3|, reduces the stretch characteristic of the covering along the 65 vention is susceptible of various modifications which may be made from time to time without departing from the real spirit or general principles thereof, and it is accordingly intended to claim the same broadly, as well as specifically, as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

l. A slipper type foot covering oisuch height as to be completely concealed from view when worn within an outer pump or other such lowcut shoe and having a heel portion, a sole portion and a toe portion, said covering being knitted of a single-ply fabric and so arranged that the knitted courses of the fabric all extend in a direction generally lengthwise of the foot and horizontally around the heel and toe portions thereof, the upper portion of the single-ply fabric being doubled upon itself and joined to the single-ply fabric to form a two-ply welt of substantial depth whereby to provide for a material reduction in the stretch characteristic of the covering in. the upper portion and along the upper edge thereof as compared with that in the single-ply portion thereof, the bottom of the covering being closed by a longitudinally extending seam.

2. In a slipper typefoot covering of the character defined in claim 1 wherein the upper front part of the fabric is searned at an angle to the wales of the fabric to provide the same with an opening in the top thereof of substantially less circumferential extent than the overall peripheral length of the fabric.

3. In a slipper type foot covering of the character defined in claim 1 wherein a part of the fabric is fashioned to provide the covering with an upper portion in which the number of wales per course counted course-wise about the covering decreases toward the open top thereof to provide an upper edge for said top of such reduced circumference as to snugly embrace the foot immediately below the upper line of the outer shoe.

4. In a slipper type foot covering of the character defined in claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the covering disposed between the upper and lower edges thereof and extending horizontally thereabout is of seamless knit construction throughout.

5. In a slipper type foot covering of the character defined in claim 1 wherein the aforesaid knitted courses extend continuously and without interruption around at least one end of the covering to form a seamless knit band extending horizontally around said end and from side to side of the covering,

6. A slipper type foot covering of such height as to be completely concealed from view when worn within an outer pump or other such lowcut shoe and having a heel portion, a sole portion and a toe portion, said covering beingknitted of a single-ply fabric and so arranged that the knitted courses of the fabric all extend in a direction generally lengthwise of the foot and horizontally around the heel and toe portions thereof, the upper portion of the fabric being doubled upon itself and joined to the single-ply fabric to form a two-ply welt, said two-ply welt portion I of the covering being fashioned in the region immediately above the toe portion of the foot cover- 0 ing to provide said welt with a top edge of substantially less circumferential extent than the overall peripheral unextended length of the foot covering.

7. A slipper type foot covering of such height 5 as to be completely concealed from view when worn within an outer pump or other such lowcut shoe and having a heel portion, a sole portion and a toe portion, said covering being knitted of a single-ply fabric and so arranged that the knitted courses of the fabric all extend in a direction generally lengthwise of the foot and horizontally around the heel and toe portions thereof,

the upper portion of the fabric being doubled upon itself and joined to the single-ply fabric to form a two-ply welt, said two-ply welt portion of the covering being fashioned in the region immediately above the toe portion of the foot cover ing to provide the same, upon either side of the longitudinal median plane of the covering, with wales which gradually increase in length rearwardly of the frontal or toe extremity of the covering.

8. A slipper type foot covering of such height as to be completely concealed from view when worn within an outer pump or other such lowcut shoe and having a heel portion, a sole portion and a toe portion, said covering being knitted of a single-ply fabric and so arranged that the knitted courses of the fabric all extend in a direction generally lengthwise of the foot and horizontally around the heel and toe portions thereof, the upper portion of the fabric being doubled upon itself and joined to the single-ply fabric, to form a two-ply welt, said two-ply welt portion of the fabric being fashioned in the region immediately above the toe portion of the foot covering to provide the same, upon either side of the longitudinal median plane of the covering, with successive interknitted loop courses-of gradually increasing lengths, the courses of least length extending along the upper edge of thecovering to define an opening in the top thereof.

9. A slipper type foot covering of such height as to be completely concealed from view when worn within an outer pump or other such low- 10 cut shoe and having a heel portion, a sole portion and a toe portion, said covering being knitted of a single-ply fabric and so arranged that the knitted courses of the fabric all extend in a direction generally lengthwise of the foot and hurl- 5 zontally around the heel and toe portions there of, the upper portion of the fabric being doubled upon itself and joined to the single-ply fabric to form a two-ply welt, said two-ply welt portion of the fabric being fashioned in the region imgo mediately above the toe portion of the foot covering to provide the same, upon either side of the dongitudinal median plane of the covering, with 'successiveinterknitted loop courses of gradually increasing lengths, the courses of least length ex- 5 tending along the upper edge of the covering to define an opening in the top thereof and the course of greatest length being in the region of the line of juncture between the double and single-ply portions of the covering. r

LEON S. HERBERT. 

